Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $579,000 in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.4% during the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 59,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.1% in the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.4% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $42.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $30.20 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.Manulife Financial’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.